Chapter 5 #2
I shake my head. “Not if we keep this platonic, no. I’m not asking you to sleep with me. I wouldn’t. I just need you to wear something pretty, make an appearance, and maybe give me a dance or two.”
Her wide eyes and pink cheeks only make me harder.
“Why me?” she asks in a soft voice.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her simply, this time not embellishing the truth.
“A break from work might be wise after what happened yesterday. You need the money. And during that time, I’ll keep you safe.
You won’t have to worry about police officers or any clients bothering you.
After our deal, you’re free to stay or leave and pursue whatever it is you’d like to do next. ”
She won’t leave.
A few seconds pass. She worries her lip and finishes her coffee. “I’m sorry, Fabien, I’m thinking.”
I turn toward the refrigerator.
“Of course. Breakfast while you think?”
I take out a carton of eggs and some American-style bacon.
“You eat eggs for breakfast? No one eats eggs for breakfast here.”
I shrug. “I told them to bring me some more American-style food, so here we go.”
“Thank you. That’s very thoughtful of you,” she says softly.
I cook while she sits at the table. I tell her about my home in Paris, my mother, and my brothers. I tell her about my cousin, the most ostentatious of all, and how his wedding will be one for the record books.
“Will there be, like, paparazzi?” she asks hesitantly.
Paparazzi for a mob wedding? We’d kill them.
“They’re not allowed, no worries there.”
“I don’t know…”
I turn to face her and slide a plate of food in front of her. “What’s holding you up?”
“You’re my boss,” she says. “But my goodness, I can’t tell you how amazing it would be to earn that money. It would change everything.” I’m banking on the fact that I can win her over before she decides to leave.
“I may be your boss, but this is a pretty unconventional workplace. No one’s gonna rat you out to HR. This is nothing but a professional arrangement, I promise.”
“I hate to say no—”
“Then don’t.”
Her thick eyelashes flutter when she blinks. “You have an answer for everything.”
I shake my head. “I want you to come with me.”
“What’s the catch?”
The catch is that once I have you, I’ll never let you go.
You’ll be my slave.
We’ll find my brother and so much more.
“No catch,” I lie. I lean against the counter and cross my arms on my chest. “You’d be surprised how important this is to my mother. Having a beautiful woman like you with me for the weekend is more than worth the money I’m willing to spend.”
“When would we leave?”
I glance at the clock on the kitchen wall. “In two hours.”
“Two hours! I don’t have what I need.”
“Is there anything you can’t get in Paris?”
“Well, no…”
I sit across from her and take a tentative bite of eggs. I make a face. “I should stick to French fare.”
“Oh, they’re fine.”
I grimace. “They’re not fine. They’re hard and rubbery.”
“Here, let me.” She stands and goes to walk past me.
I want to reach for her and pull her to me.
Give her a teasing smack to the ass. Cradle her in my lap and kiss the hell out of her.
I clench my hands to keep myself in check.
I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
I want to plunder her. My need for her claws at my chest, ruthless and demanding.
“How long do you need to think about it?” I know I’m being pushy, but this matters to me.
There’s nothing to think about. You’re mine.
I love the way she looks in my kitchen, cracking eggs into a frying pan as if she belongs here.
“I really do need that money, and I think I’m a good judge of character.” She looks over her shoulder. “We have a deal.”
I swivel around in my chair to face her. My heart thunders. I hold myself back with effort and allow only the slightest hint of command to color my words. I don’t want to scare her away, not yet.
“Come here, Nicolette.”
I’m not imagining the way she holds her head up. The steady step as she walks toward me. The way my body heats when she approaches me.
“Yes?” she whispers, the very picture of seduction. I’ll take her right here, right now, over the side of this table—no. Not yet.
When she reaches me, I slide my hands across the small of her back. She feels small and petite, her soft, warm body molded to my hands.
The first time I touched her, when I ran my thumb across her skin, the intense, primal need to have her took root. Something deep inside me began to chant, mine, mine, MINE. It’s growing more insistent with every second I’m in her presence.
“Are you saying what I think you are?”
“You’re being polite, Fabien,” she whispers. “And let’s be honest. If you pay me as much as you say you will, I have no need to work here anymore. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“So then… we would no longer be boss and employee, would we?”
I shake my head.
“There are few things I have to offer you. I save every penny I’ve earned. You know I’m not asking for commitment. But you’re offering me such a large sum of money, it only makes sense I offer you what I can give you in exchange. What I’m… well, what I’m good at.”
I cup her jaw. My voice is husky when I whisper, “Maybe we should see if we have chemistry first.”
“Chemistry,” she repeats with a slight nod.
I nod. “Chemistry.”
I guide her onto my lap so she straddles me.
The anticipation’s unbearable. My gaze falls to the inviting curve of her neck. Her luscious lips, gently parted. I move my hand from her jaw to her neck. I thread my fingers in her hair and guide her close to me.
“Good thing I brushed my teeth when I woke up,” she whispers.
“Same.” I flash her a smile and sweep my lips across hers so gently it’s only a whisper. I want to savor the anticipation. My eagerness and hers.
Our eyes lock as our breathing synchronizes. I draw her nearer, one hand on her neck and the other on the small of her back, pressing her closer. I can feel the rapid thud of her pulse. She shivers, the gentlest of tremors, and her eyes flutter closed.
I whisper in her hair, “Veux-tu m'epouser?”
“Monsieur,” she responds with a breathy laugh, clearly amused. “You want to kiss me so badly you’d propose already?”
She thinks I’m joking. I’ll let her think that for now.
I sigh, as if dejected. “Je peux t’embrasser?”
“Yes, of course, we can start with a kiss.”
I love the way she relaxes into me. The way her hand on my arm sends a warm shiver over my skin. The way her lips part when they meet mine.
I want to crush her to me, feast on her, but I make myself tame my need. My lips touch hers like a whisper. I sink into the velvet warmth of her.
Her eager response sings through my veins.
I don’t want her to suspect me. I don’t want her to know that soon, I’ll offer her way more than her wages. I’ll pay her so much money, she’ll never have to work here again because she’s mine now, and I’ll have to kill any man who touches her after me.
So I pull back far too soon. I relish the little parting sigh she gives and hold it close to me as a reminder that she wants this. Wants me.
“So?” I ask.
There’s a faint glint of humor mixed with shock in her eyes.
“We have a deal.”